This invention relates to the Foley catheter art, and more particularly to an improved device for the introduction of cleansing or irrigating fluid into Foley catheters for passage toward the human urethra.
In the practice of medicine, catheters have long been used to drain urine from the bladders of patients who are unable to control the discharge of urine due to medication or physical incapacity. Catheters of this type, known in the trade as Foley catheters, are introduced through the human urethra to the bladder, at which point they are provided with an inflatable portion which maintains the catheter in position against the fluid pressure within the bladder. It has been found that the fine cannular opening within Foley catheters tends to become clogged during use from a build-up of calcium and other elements of the urine. It is then desirable to pass a cleansing fluid, such as acetic acid, through the catheter for the purpose of restoring it to an unclogged condition. It is also desirable in many cases to irrigate an infected or otherwise unhealthy bladder of a patient carrying a Foley catheter. This is, of course, most effectively done through the catheter itself.
The cleansing and irrigating procedures noted above have heretofore been accomplished with conventional needle-type syringes. To aid in these procedures, one type of commercially available Foley catheter is provided with an injection site having a pierceable diaphragm through which a cleansing or irrigating fluid can be introduced. Many other urethral catheters of the Foley type have no injection site, but are provided either with a tapered or a cylindrical free end fitment which is releasably connected to a discharge tube running to a urine bag or other receptacle. To my knowledge, the flushing or irrigating procedures are commonly performed on these catheters by disconnecting the waste conduit from the free end fitment, and expelling the fluid from a needle-type syringe into the free end. A substantial amount of the cleansing or irrigating fluid may be lost in this operation, and it is difficult to establish sufficient fluid pressure to force the fluid through the length of the catheter.
Therefore, in many applications it is desirable to provide a device able to effectively pass a cleansing or irrigating fluid through the entire length of urethral catheters of any conventional construction. It is particularly desirable to provide a device able to engage the free end fitments of urethral catheters as well as imperforate injection sites.